GC: Help with boss guides.

[pixelate]

I offered to do some boss guides for PSOW. The problem is that I only have a HUcaseal that can make it to each boss, so I can't do a complete guide for all the bosses by myself. I need your help with boss strategies. Strategies like where to stand to avoid attacks; units to wear for each boss to help reduce lightning damage, light damage, etc.; and weapons to use. Things of that nature. I'm also interested in info for the mini bosses (http://www.pso-world.com/sections.php?op=viewarticle&artid=305).

Once enough info is posted for all the bosses, I'll write up a guide to be put in the Guides (http://www.pso-world.com/sections.php) section with credit going to PSOW members.

Here's the info PSOW has so far on the bosses.

Episode I Bosses (http://www.pso-world.com/sections.php?op=viewarticle&artid=303).
Episode II Bosses (http://www.pso-world.com/sections.php?op=viewarticle&artid=304).
Episode II Mini Bosses (http://www.pso-world.com/sections.php?op=viewarticle&artid=305).

Honestly, I can't give PSOW a good enough guide on my own. I need your help big time with this one.

[TeamPhalanx]

Quite frankly, if you can beat the bosses as an android (meaning w/o resta), you're more than qualified to write a guide.

Besides, the best strategy is just to level up.

Units are for the most part useless, since the only time they're of great concern is when you're fighting against Dark Falz and Olga Flow; and in both cases, if you can survive their physical attacks, you probably have enough HP to survive their ELT based attacks.

Most newcomers to the game seem to have the greatest difficulty against De Rol Le. I'm practically an expert against the thing, but one of the safe spots is hard to describe (the 2nd one to the precise - 1st & 3rd being the upper corners facing the boss).

I do wish that people would stop shooting the screens against Vol Opt's first form, as it's much easier to just destroy the 6 columns that pop out of the ground.

All that said, I'd love to see a guide on Dark Falz, especially the Ultimate version; there is a safe spot to stand against the 2nd form's attack, but I could never figure out where that spot is with respects to Falz itself - I also hear that it's possible to dodge the 3rd form's swipe attack...

[pixelate]

Well, I can write up a decent guide for Hunters, but I'm interested in how other classes and other players deal with bosses, like with weapon choices. Should a Ranger want to take a shot or a rifle for certain bosses? Should a Hunter use a slicer, handgun, sword, or a partisan for certain bosses?

That's another thing. I can't handle Ultimate Dark Falz or Olga Flow. I haven't faced Ult Dark Falz on the GC yet, but I did on the DC. There might be changes between the two versions. I haven't faced Ult Olga Flow at all. So, yea, I have holes in the guide I could write on my own.

It's the holidays, but I'll write up a guide with spare time for the dragons so everyone can get an idea of what I'm looking for. Everyone will also have an idea of what I'm missing.

Oh, and I know it's difficult to describe places to stand. We'll soon have some good diagrams that everyone can mark up with dots and all that for boss areas.

[Tartare]

well, i played Rangers quite a bit on the DC, and i can give some suggestions for the episode 1 bosses and a weapon preference.

dragon - rifles are good to knock him down, and then either stick with the rifle or switch to mechguns when you've got him knocked down.
de rol le - shots might hit him multiple times, but they're far too slow for offline or solo online. use a handgun or a rifle unless you're playing with other people.
vol opt - for the first form, i use a rifle on the center part and on the columns. for the second form, i use a shot. with a good shot you can knock off multiple parts of his second form.
dark falz - again, either handgun or rifle (i prefer rifle). shots are pretty much useless for all forms, and the third form can be hit anywhere with a rifle, and from all the way across the ring with a handgun if you stand at the inside edge. mechguns are also good if you have enough ATA and ATP, but i tend to use a high dark % handgun or rifle.

i don't know if that helps much or not. i haven't tried a Ranger out on GC PSO yet, but i know the same strategies should apply for the episode 1 bosses.

[GLHeX]

As a force I can say a few things about episode one bosses.

The Fire Dragon:

Barta/Rabarta - Barta's harder to aim at lower levels, but it does alot of damage and its quicker to cast than Rabarta. Rabarta is slower to casta nd depending on level probably does less damage than Barta, but you can hit him while he's in the air.

Zonde - A good choice for fast spell casting and little damage while hes in the air, if you choose not to use Rabarta, Zonde is great while his in the air, other wise don't waste your TP.

While he's down hunters and Rangers should run straight for the head, as they deal more damage there. Forces shouldnt waste valuable time and sacrafice hits, just to move to the head, when it comes to spells there is no difference in damage delt.

--------

Ice Dragon

Foie - It hurts him big time, its fast, and can hit him in air.

---------

De Rol

Lightning spells for the head. Works best.

---------

Vol Opt

Lighting spells work great

--------

Vol Opt Version two

Ice, ice, ice =]

--------

Dark falz

Gifoie is a great choice for the second form.

The third form you should use Grants, stand to the side and pump grants over and over, slow mo' doesnt effect spell casting, so lucky you - you deal A LOT of damage and never get slowed down. Not to mention it has crazy range!

Fourth form, aww yeah, FOIE!!
I never use anything else on him, its super fast and at higher levels you can hit him when hes all the way on the other side of the ring! And it deals so much damage its sick.



I hope that helped, I never woulda guessed falz hates Foie myself, but truth be told, he's a wuss if you cast foie. Better yet get your self a Foie merge. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_wink.gif

Foie is myfriend, Im going to get a puppy and name him Foie. True story.



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: GLHeX on 2002-12-25 01:34 ]</font>

[DirewolfX]

I'll give my version of how to fight the bosses as a FOrce:

Dragon:

Barta while he's on the ground will tear him to pieces. The standard strategies of running around him (so you don't get hit by his breath weapon) and staying away from him when he lands apply. When he burrows, open up the big mini-map via the menu screens to help dodge him.

Sil Dragon:

Same as the Dragon except use Foie, instead. Only use the map for the first two burrows. For the third burrow, stand just outside of his reach on his first spiral, and then run to the ouside as soon as he's passed once. The Sil Dragon is faster, stronger and freezes when he hits, so it's much more important to avoid his attacks, esp. as a force.

De Rol Le:

Biggest pushover in the game for FOs (well, after Normal anyway). Rafoie or Gizonde will tear him to pieces, so use whichever one does more damage for you (I usually use Rafoie, FOmars might pick Gizonde). Each casting will usually hit most of his body parts for thousands of damage.

Da Ra Lie:

Expect a long battle. He's highly resistant to fire and immune to lightning, so the staple Gizonde and Rafoie won't work as well here. Even so, I still used Rafoie (due to all the parts it hit). His head took almost decent damage from Barta, but it didn't compare to get 70-ish damage from all his parts.

Vol Opt:

First form: Knock down the big thing in the center with Foie. Wait for the pillars to pop up. Hit the red one with as much foie as you can. If it hits you with Zonde, you'll have to knock the thing in the center down. If you manage to fry it, then you just need to wait for them to pop up again. Rinse, repeat.

Second Form: Cast Zonde on him. You can't hit multiple parts with Gizonde, so it's not worth it unless you have better damage with it. Be careful if going solo--you don't want to get hit by his super attack as a FO. Otherwise, standard dodging strats work.

Vol Opt (ver 2):

First Form: Stand in the middle and wait for Vol Opt to stop circling the monitors. Then, when the pillars pop up, toss off a few Razonde's to knock out the blue ones, then cast Zonde on the red one. You might take some hits the first few times, so bring some resists and sol atomizers.

Second Form: His weakpoint is Barta. Pretty much the same strategy as Vol Opt, except he randomizes his attack patterns. This makes it a REAL pain to predict the super-attack, so be careful and/or bring a scape or two if going it alone. He has one new attack where he drops multiple columns at a time... I find if you stand at someone of an odd angle to him, he will miss with it (free hits!).

(posting this for now, will make another post with DF and the Ep. II bosses I've done so far)

[DirewolfX]

More bosses:

Dark Falz (normal-v. hard):

Bring HP units.

Darvants: Use Barta. Rabarta works nice if they're near you. Otherwise regular Barta can hit them far away. Or use Foie if you're having a hard time aiming.

First Form: Use Zonde (or Grants, I hear). Stand near the mouth when it's spitting out Darvants and cast Rabarta once you have a decent number in range. You can't dodge his elemental attacks, so make sure you can survive them and then heal. He uses fire and ice.

Second Form: Cast barta when the sphere underneath him is visible. Slow doesn't affect casting speed, so take advantage of his slow attack. Again, you can't dodge his elemental attacks. Make sure you have enough to survive the beams from the sky (not sure what element it is). If you can't handle that, you're doomed for the third form (in Hard/V. Hard)

Third Form: Cast Foie as he circles around the arena (you can even hit him when he glows). Avoid his swipes if you can (ridiculously hard to do, though). When he goes into the sky, run around him. Some coordination might be required here in multiplayer games. There's no dodging grants (unless you've mastered that cheesy 'Resta' dodge), so either get ELT or have enough HP (via HP units) to survive it. I recommend HP units as they will also help you survive if you get swiped. When he sucks your soul (you'll know when--big red line on minimap) don't attack until he releases you or you'll hurt yourself. In multiplayer, he might soul suck another player, so be sure not to attack or you'll hurt them (and probably piss them off).

Episode II:

Barba Ray (Ultimate):

When he's alongside the raft, cast Gizonde. Run around randomly (and don't back track) to avoid his tentacles from below. Dodge or kill the Pig and Ul Rays (or suck up the hits--they're weak). When he goes to jump on the raft, run to the other side--his shockwave does lots of damage. Then hit him with Gizonde.

Gol Dragon (Ultimate):

He was such a pushover. With only around 30% resists to everything (i.e. an ordinary barrier), he was doing only about 300 elemental damage. His shockwaves or getting stepped on did about the same (not sure what my DFP was, but low--I'm FOnewearl). Cast Foie on whichever form you can target. Be prepared to break free from ice or burn a Sol Atomizer from his Ice/Lightning attacks. Rafoie might be useful when the three images get bunched together. He really was a joke though.

[eRUPT]

Man, you guys rule, Merry Christmas.

Thanks alot.

[TeamPhalanx]

Weapons are pretty much a no-brainer, and odds are you already have a good idea of what to use. All it takes is a little experience using all the classes and fighting the bosses to figure out what to go with.

Forest - Mechguns, go for the head. Barta hits both ground and aerial enemies.

Caves - Sword/partisan for HUnters (always), Mechgun or Shotgun if you're RA (optional is Photon Launcher, which can be effective if you line up your shot)

Mines - Mechgun (see the theme yet?) for 1st form and slicer/shotgun/launcher for the 2nd form.

Ruins - Mechgun (gotta love this weapon). It's a bad idea to destroy the darvants during the 1st form, as it has a tendency to do its special attack if you do so. 2nd form's rabarta/rafoie are avoidable, if you stay at maximum rifle range at the corners; it'll never aim for you, but rather just fire straight. You can actually hit the third form while its in the air with Gifoie.

Temple - Same as Caves.

Spaceship - Mechgun, don't bother to aim for head, just hit it.

CCA - Mechgun if you're brave and don't mind a low Mag sync. Maximum Handgun/Rifle range if you're a coward like me and like your Mag sync high. Head is the weakest point, followed by the wings.

Seabed - Mechgun (it's everywhere!) and Handgun. If you're a FOrce, you'll be too busy dying to cast any techs. General strategy online is not to revive during the 1st form so you can save all moon atomizers for the 2nd form.

[pixelate]

Very berry, everyone. I'll start putting things together this weekend.

[DirewolfX]

As soon as I have time to clear out CCA, I'll give my thoughts on Gal Griffon (ult). So far in three unfinished runs, I've found Zonde 28 and Barta 29, so I'm feeling enthusiatic about it. ^_^

[DirewolfX]

Episode II CCA (Ultimate):

Resistances are often different in Ultimate versus Normal-V. Hard, so these strategies might not apply to the earlier difficulties (I haven't tried CCA before Ultimate with my FO).

Mericarol: (Weak against Zonde)

Two methods, the cheap method and the not-cheap method:

Cheap method: As soon as the area starts to get dark (a sure sign that Mericarol is going to appear soon), hightail it for the entrance. Now, tiptoe back into the room as slowly as you can. As soon as the targetting reticles focus on Mericarol (the Merillias should all remain rooted, if one becomes unrooted, finish it off with Zonde first), start blasting away with Zonde. You should be just out of reach of Mericarol's AI so it will just sit there and do nothing as you blast it to smithereens. (Note: Depending on how high your Zonde is, you might not have enough range. Mine is pretty high, but I figure it should work with any Zonde around 20+... if you don't have Zonde lvl 20 you'll probably have a lot of difficulty with this area in general, as both Merillias and Ul Gibbons are weak to Zonde on Ultimate).

Not Cheap Method: Run around dodging that fireball Mericarol shoots (instant death to me with Deband with over 550 HP) and taking pot shots with Zonde at either Mericarol or one of the Merillias that's bound to pop up.

Gibbles: (Weak against Barta)

Gibbles has two basic attack patterns to watch out for: Smashing your face in and jumping on you and smashing your face in. He's weak to Barta, so hotkey Rabarta/Gibarta to freeze him and your most damaging (usually Barta) ice spell to damage him. Make sure to cast Deband--you'll be taking hits--and Jellen on him, if possible. Now, try to freeze him with Rabarta/Gibarta (if you do enough damage, you can also stun him with this), if he knocks you down (which would be any time he hits you), immediately cast Resta then your freezing spell. If you manage to freeze him, cast your damaging ice spell as much as possible. I haven't yet figured how (if possible) to dodge his jump attack... just cast Resta then freeze when you get up. Alternatively, you could try running in circles and casting Rabarta... but that's probably an exercise in frustration. You should be able to ignore his Gibbon buddies... they'll either be out of range or get killed off as you spam Rabarta to freeze the boss. If there happens to be one in range to cast spells at you but too far to hit with Rabarta, try to take it out asap, because Shock from Gizonde can be deadly (and Megid is worse).

Gi Gue: (Weak against Barta)

He's weak against Ice like the little Gees that are with him. So just run in and cast Rabarta as much as you can, healing when you get hit. Every now and then, he'll fly to the other side of the room and shoot you with something, but by the time you get up and heal, he should be within or close to Rabarta range. The advantage of casting Rabarta instead of targetting Gi Gue (if you can manage it) is that Rabarta also kills the Gees that are with him and the poison mound thingies that pop up out of the ground.

Gal Griffon: (Weak against Barta)

Yay... another boss weak agaisnt Barta. Well, that would be great... if it were possible to actually target him with Barta. It's ridiculously hard to actually hit him with Barta... and you'd need to get close to cast Gibarta or Rabarta (close is a bad thing because of his shockwave), so I recommend just sticking with good ol' Foie. Sure, you'll be doing only 1/3 damage, but at least you'll be safe and won't tear your hair out trying to line up an actual hit with Barta. Also, make sure to cast Deband and Jellen... it's tough to hit him with Jellen, but if you don't cast both, he could kill you with a critical hit, depending on your level and tech levels.

Gal Griffon begins by flying at you and trying to clip you with its wings. Take advantage of this time to setup Deband and Jellen. Next, he'll fly around spitting tornadoes at you. Dodge the bolts and avoid the tornadoes, while trying to get some pot shots in with Foie. After two or three tornadoes, he'll land. Make sure to stay far, far away from him when he's on the ground and cast Foie from there. You probably won't be able to avoid his charge, so just take the hit and cast Resta afterwards (then run away if he stops near you). If he rears up on his hind legs, make sure to get away from him--his shockwave can probably kill Hunters around your level in one hit, if they get caught next to him. If he uses his lightning breath, stay out from in front of him and cast Foie... you'll probably get hit by one of the lightning spurts that comes out of him, so be prepared to heal with a Dimate if you get shocked. Other than that, take advantage of when he's on the ground to blast away with as much Foie as possible. After you've done some damage to him, he'll add a new attack to his pattern. Between spitting tornadoes at you and landing, he'll fly up in the sky and rain lightning on you. There's no guaranteed way to dodge this, so be ready to heal. If you're having trouble with this or the Lightning Breath/Spark attack, get some Resist/Storm units. It may take a while, but eventually he'll fall (13600 health offline... with my 200-damage foie that's about 70 hits). Be prepared to recast Deband and/or Jellen if they run out!



Well, I probably don't have the greatest strategies for this, since I haven't had much experience with Ult. CCA yet... but these strategies worked well enough for me.

[DirewolfX]

Revised strategy for Gibbles:

After playing him again, I've discovered that my original strategy pretty much sucked. Jellen doesn't affect him at all (no idea if Deband was helping me, but didn't want to risk going it without it), and every now and then he'd critical and kill me in one blow. So basicly beating him by that strategy is pure luck. But... I did figure out an actual pattern that works against him...

Gibbles is vulnerable for several seconds after he jumps... so the strategy is pretty simple. Run like heck until you get Gibbles to jump (it can be avoided if you're already in a run before he starts his jump), then turn around and cast Barta 2-3 times or just throw out some Rabartas. Expect to use a lot of TP, as the Ul and Zol Gibbons will sometimes soak up your attacks and get in the way. Also, bring Sol Atomizers and try to avoid Megids if you can. Sometimes, you'll be able to target the Gibbons from the room with the warp gate... if this happens, feel free to waste a few with Zonde.

[DirewolfX]

More on Gi Gue:

The strategy I used before seemed to work pretty well... until Gi Gue dropped this Giant Spikey Nuke on me which he didn't use the first time. So after that, I figured out that much like Mericarol, it's possible to sneak barely into his room and pump him full of Barta or whatever spell you want to cast on him. Grants was doing slightly more damage to him than Barta, but at twice the cost in TP. I'm a FOnewearl though, so FOmarls would definitely consider using Grants against him. The other FOs would have to decide for themselves which is better based on their TP restraints and tech levels.

[DirewolfX]

More on Gal Griffon:

When he flies up into the sky and rains lightning on you (btw, this isn't after he takes a certain amount of damage... it's just random whether he'll do this or try to clip you with his wings), make sure to watch where Gal Griffon is on the mini-map (he's the bigger circle). It's possible to get stuck underneath him... in which case you're toast if he decides to do his shockwave attack next. Also, I figured out how to line up to hit him with Barta. Make sure you stand in front or behind him (not to the sides) and make sure the targetting reticle is on his feet or his head. If it's on his wings, you won't hit.

And a brief bit on Mericarol--I played through a version of the map in which you enter Mericarol's lair through the other door. My trick still works fine though. I noticed that in this case, and when hitting Ul Gibbons from long range with Zonde, you sometimes don't see the damage numbers pop up, but as long as you see the creature going through the damage animation, you're still hitting and doing damage.

[MaJin]

I dunno if u guyz mention this but i think FOs should cast Jellen/Zalure if ur playing online with Hu/Ra. Humar,Hune,Ramarl can cast em too.

[IceBurner]

As a HUcast, I use the Rappy Fan on many major bosses ... it works wonders on the Dragon, Sil Dragon, De Rol Le, Dal Re Lie, Barba Ray, Gol Dragon, Gal Gryphon, and Olga Flow. Line yourself up so that you see multiple target locks and fire away! Though I may do 150 damager per hit compared with 250 or more using other weapons, I also get 15+ hits per combo rather than six at most with non-slicers.

For Vol Opt and Volt Opt ver 2, I like to use partisans on the screens (if anything) and daggers on the pillars. For the second half of the battle, daggers deal damage quickly enough to destroy Vol Opt before all his parts are junked.

Fighting Dark Falz, I bring my strongest melee weapon, strongest pistol, and strongest curse words. Falz's first two forms are easy enough, but its third form is just a #&*$@&$@^%# to fight as an android and hunter...you get VERY few opportunities to attack while at the same time you have to endure a near-relentless heavy assault. It's worth it to bring every last healing item you possibly can, and make sure to bring a strong gun...most, if not all of your chances for a melee attack are spoiled when Falz decides to swat you or suddenly fly someplace else before you can actually get in position.

Episode 2's minibosses aren't really anything that special for an adequately strong hunter, so I don't have that much to say:

Avoid Gi Gue's "giant spiked ball of boom", then shoot it down. You can tell when it's about to fire by watching its enormous abdomen. A slicer may be useful because it also takes out nearby Gi's. If not, pack a pistol or mechgun. Foie traps are useful for dealing with swarms of annoying Gis.

Avoid Meriacol's confuse-causing munchkin balls then also shoot it to death. If you decide to fight in close and it begins making a strange sort of "alarm" or "countdown" sound, run the heck away while filling your Hp. Freeze traps are definitely worth using so you can just wail away.

Lastly, it's too much of a pain to avoid Gibbles' G.A.S. attack by running, use your barta traps and then beat the living tar out of it with your strongest weapon.

[DirewolfX]

A thought for Dark Falz: Maybe this has been tried already... but has anyone considered using a weapon with a Fire special on his final form? We FOs know that Foie can hit him even when he's glowing... so why shouldn't a Burning Raygun or Vulcan or Custom Ray be able to damage him?

[DirewolfX]

More on Gi Gue:

It seems like sticking as close as you can to the entrance doesn't really work, I just got lucky. The best way to deal with him is to pump him full of Barta (or Rabarta if you want to hit the Gees nearby), but watch him carefully. If he activates a shield thingie, stop firing. If you do accidentally hit him while he has this shield on (your technique will "MISS"), then start running like hell, cause he'll fire his "Giant Spiked Ball of Doom" at you (which does over 600 damage to me). If you don't hit him while he's doing this (you might need to move around a bit to dodge the Gee's attacks), he'll eventually lower the shield and you can resume pummeling him with Barta techniques. His regular attack isn't too much of a problem, it shouldn't ever kill you, just heal when you get hit by it (it causes confusion, but that's not a big deal if you're casting Rabarta... or you can Anti it if you prefer).